Production of solid chilled edible products



Jan. 6, 1942. G. c. scHAuB ETAL 2,263,905

PRODUCTION OF SOLID CHILLED EDIBLE PRODUCTS Filgd June 30, 1939 5Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS GORDON CZ SCH/10B JACOB SCHAUB A ORNEY Jan. 6,1942. G. c. SCHAUB ET AL 2,268,905

PRODUCTION OF SOLID CHILLED EDIBLE PRODUCTS GORDON C SCH/W8 BY JACOBSCH/10B ATTORNEY Jan. 6, 1942. s. c, SCHAUB ETAL RODUCTION-OF SOLIHILLED BLE PROD C Filed June 30, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 5 INVENTORSGORDON C. SCI/A08 JAcoa a h 03 x 4 c A BY o M 7 AT ORNEY Jan. 6, 1942.ac. SCHAUB ETAL 1 2,268,905

I PRODUCTION OF SOLID CHILLED EDIBLE PRODUCTS Filed June 50} 19:59 5Sheets-Sheet 4 v wil ENTORS 60 ON a GUI-M118 JJICOB 8CHAl/B ORNEY m1942- G. c. SCHAUB ETALY 2,268,905

PRODUCTION OF SOLID CHILLED EDIBLE PRODUCTS Filed June 30, 1939 5Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS GORDON C. SCH/108 T4808 fll-MUB ATT RNEYPatented Jan. 6, 1942 PRODUCTION or SOLID CHILLED EDIBLE raonuc'rsGordon 0. Schaub, Bayonne, and Jacob Schaub, Wcstfield, N. J., assignorsto-The Best Foods, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of DelawareApplication June 30, 1939, Serial No. 282,020

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for chilling liquids toproduce solid edible products such as margarine, shortening compoundsand the like.

In the manufacture of margarine as heretofor practiced, the emulsion ofoil and water has been chilled in a thin layer on the surface of achilled roll, the solidified crystals being scraped from the roll,collected in a mass and worked into the final product. In order toobtain the proper texture in the finished product avoiding a coarse orgrainy texture, it has been necessary to work over the chilled crystalsby kneading them and intermixing them extensively. It has also beennecessary to allow batches of the worked material to stand withoutworking for a period of time, known as resting the material. Such aprocess consequently has been discontinuous in order to obtain a' highquality product. This invention makes it possible to producecontinuously a high quality margarine in a very economical manner andwith a minimum of effort.

It is an object of this invention to provide a process and apparatus forsimultaneously chilling and working or rubbing a liquid and the solid orsemi-solid material resulting from chilling such liquid so that afinished product is obtained in a single operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide chilling apparatus whichwill not clog or be rendered temporarily inoperative by liquid hardeningtherein during the chilling operation, but which will forcibly expel thecongealed material therefrom.

A further object of our invention is to make margarine and other relatedchilled solid products continuously by passing the ingredients throughapparatus acting as a combined pump and freezer.

A further object is to provide apparatus for chilling and congealingliquids continuously which is self cleaning and which may be stopped fora period of time and restarted without the necessity of warming theapparatus to clean out hardened material therein.

Another object is the provision of apparatus for making margarine andrelated chilled products continuously in which the liquid to'be chilledmay be fed to the apparatus by gravity.

The invention will be described in connection with the embodimentthereof shown in the accompanying drawings, in whichv Figures 1 and 1Atogether represent a horizontal sectional view through approximately thecenter of the chilling and working apparatus.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of this apparatus on 'a smaller scale withportions thereof broken away to showthe interior construction.

Figure 3 is a fractional detail view on an enlarged scale partly inelevation and partly in section illustrating a portion of one of therotors.

Figure 4 is a fractional vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4of Figure 3.

Figures 5 and 6 are vertical sectional views taken on the lines 55 and6-6 respectively of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line '|--'l of Figure1A.

Figure 8 is an end elevation of the apparatus taken on the line 88 ofFigure 1A.

Figure 9 is a plan view of one of the scraping rings used on the rotors.

Figure 10 is a side elevation of one of mg rings.

The apparatus comprises a combination pump and chilling unit made up ofan outer substantially cylindrical casing H, and an inner casin l2spaced therefrom, the casing l2 being in the shape of a pair of parallelintersecting cylinders (Figures 5 and 6). Inner casing I2 is held infixed relation within the outer casing II by a series of spaced platesl3 welded or otherwise secured to casing l2 and which contact the innersurface of the casing ll. Plates [3 are preferably spaced from the topand bottom of the casing II as at H and may be provided with openingsIla to permit circulation of a refrigerant longitudinally of theapparatus within the space between casings H and I2. Such refrigeratingfluid may be inblOdllCBd into this space through the inlet pipe I5 andwithdrawn through pipe iii. The space between casings I l and I 2 may beclosed at the ends by suitable annular plates l1 and I8 welded orotherwise secured in fluid-tight fashion to the outer surface of casingl2 near the ends thereof and to the ends of casing Ii.

Within the casing i2, a pair of rotors l9 and 20 may be arranged to fitsnugly for rotation in Opposite directions with the worm flights 2|meshing with each other. These rotors are preferably of complementalconstruction, each being provided with wedge-shaped spiral worm flights2| having complemental grooves 22 therebetween. The grooves 22 betweenthe worm flights 2| preferably have relatively fiat inner surfaces 22a.The outermost portions of the worm flights 2| may have narrow flatsurfaces 2la defining the grooves 23 which are constructed to receiveseries of scraping rings 24. While a single scraping ring could beprovided for each rotor, we prefer the scrapto use a plurality ofsuccessive rings, arranged end to end in the grooves 23 and each ringextending about one revolution around the rotor. These rings may bewedge-shaped in cross section and are preferably made of spring steelwith inwardly extending hooks25 on their ends that extend forward in thedirection of rotation of the rotors. The hooks'25 may be received insuitable notches 26 provided at regular intervals around the grooves 23.The rotors l9 and 28 preferably are longer than the casing l2 and extendsome distance into the housing 21 at the inlet end of the machineand'into the housing 28 at the outlet end of the machine.

Housings 21 and 28 may be secured to outwardly extending portions of theannular plates l1 and I8 by bolts 29 or other suitable means. Openings38,'3| are provided in these housings to receive the ends of the rotorsl9 and 28. If desired, the rotors l9 and 28 may be of one piececonstruction either solid or hollow. We prefer, however, to make therotors l9 and 28 of a hollow construction for the internal circulationof cooling fluid by providing suitable core members 32 sealed within therotors.

The core members 32 may be of identical construction comprising theshaft sections 34 and 315 at the ends provided with central openings 36and 31. The core members 32 fit snugly within the I rotors l8 and 28and-may be secured in place as openings 38 and 3| to hold suitablepacking" glands 42 surrounding the shaft sections 34 and 35 against theends of bushing membersv 38, 38.

The central portions of core members -32 may be formed with radiallongitudinally extending spokes 33 leaving spaces 33a therebetween forthe circulation of cooling fluid. The spaces 3311 may be connected tocentral openings 36, 37 in the end sections 34, 35 by means of the holes36a and 31a.

To support the end shaft sections 34, 35 in better fashion for rotation,bearing supports 43 and 44, provided with suitable openings 45 and 46for the end sections 34, 35, may be bolted to the ends of housings 21,28 by means of the bolts 41. Suitable bushings 48 and 49 may be fittedinto the openings 45 and 46 to provide bearings for the shaftsections34, 35 of the rotors I9 and 28. The rotors |9 and 28 may be driven bythe gears 58 and 5| meshing with each other and splined or otherwisesecured as by the keys 52 to the outer endsof shaft sections 34 outsideof the bearing support 43. Main drive gear 53 may be arranged to drivegear 5| from a suitable source of power (not shown), thus rotating thetwo rotors l9 and 28 in opposite directions.

In order to supply cooling fluid to the interior of the rotors l9 and28, the'pipes 54 may be arranged to extend part way into the openings 36in the shaft sections 34. Pipes 54 may be supplied from a common sourcewith cooling fluid through pipe 55 and the Y connection 56. To

avoid leakage of cooling fluid, end sections 34 may be provided withenlarged openings 51 at their ends filled with suitable packing material58. The end sections 34 may also be threaded to receive the hollow nuts59 and lock nuts 58a which press the bushings 59b splined to endsections 36 against the packing material 58. Lubricating means 68 may beprovided in a hollow portion of the nuts 59. Thus the shaft sections 34are allowed to rotate about the pipes 54 without loss of liquid.

The cooling fluid from the interior of the ro tors I8 and 28 may bewithdrawn through the pipe sections 6|, the Y connection 62, and pipe 63which are associated with the ends of the shaft sections 35 withsuitable packing glands held in place by the nuts 59 and 5941 asdescribed above for the shaft sections 34.

Housing 21 may be provided with an opening 64 to which a pipe 65 isconnected for feeding into the apparatus by gravity the margarineemulsion or other liquid to be chilled. The hardened or chilled materialleaving the apparatus is forced under pressure by the rotors into thehousing 28 from which it is discharged through the outlet 66. Associatedwith the outlet 66, a template or shaping nozzle 61 may be employed sothat in the case of solid plastic material issuing through the outlet66, such material will be shaped in the form of a long bar which may beimmediately cut into sections and packaged.

In the operation of the machine, the cooling fluid, which may be brine,ammonia or other refrigerant, is circulated through the space betweenthe casings II and I2, being introduced through pipe l5 and withdrawnthrough pipe I6. Simultaneously, this same or some other refrigerant isintroduced into the interior of the rotors l9 and 28 through the pipe55, pipe 54, the longitudinal openings 36, the openings 36a and thusalong the inside of the central section of the rotor between the spokes33. This refrigerant is withdrawn through the openings 31a, 31, thepipes 6| and the pipe 63. The emulsion or other liquid to be chilled orhardened is fed into the housing 2'! through the pipe 65 and inletopening 64. This material may simply be flowed into the housing bygravity and does not have to be forced under pressure. In preparingmargarine, this liquid ;may consist of an emulsion of oil and watertogether with salt in the proportions desired in the final product.

The rotors l9 and 28 are rotated. in opposite directions; as indicatedin Figure 8, by means of the gears 58, 5| driven by the gear 53. As therotors rotate, the emulsion introduced into the housing 21 is picked upby the worm flights 2| of the rotors l9 and 28 and is immediatelytrapped in the grooves 22 of the rotors and carried into the casing |2.This emulsion is rapidly chilled, heat being withdrawn through thecasing l2, and also through the walls of the rotors l9 and 28. The wallsof these rotors are of substantially uniform thickness and present avery large cooling surface to the material to be chilled. As thematerial is chilled, it solidifies and any solid material adhering tocasing I2 is immediately scraped from the inner surface of the casing bythe corkscrew scraping action of the rings 24. Any solid materialadhering to the surfaces of one of the rotors l9 and 28 is also removedby contact with the other rotor.

The liquid together with the solid material is subjected continuously toa rolling, rubbing or crushing action between the worm flights 2| of onerotor and the grooves 22 of the other rotor. This squeezing of thematerial between the surfaces of the rotors provides a working orrubbing action on the material as fastas it solidifies, which gives athin, smooth homogeneous texture to the substantially solid materialdelivered to housing 28 by the rotors at the other end of casing l2.

Since the solid chilled material is forced into the housing 28 by therotors, it is forcibly ejected through the outlet opening 66 and theshaping nozzle 61 by the pressure on it from the rotors. No opportunityis afforded for any air pockets to form in the material, and by properlycontrolling the temperature of the refrigerants in the apparatus, thematerial may be delivered through the forming nozzle 61 at any desireddegree of hardness.

It will be seen that by reason of the action of the meshing flights ofthe rotors and the scraping action of the rings 24, the apparatus isentirely self cleaning and is not subject to becoming clogged bysolidification of the material being chilled. The volume of the machinemay be suitably adjusted by regulating the speed of rotation of therotors and correlating the temperature and rate of circulation of thecooling fluid in accordance with the volume of material being chilled.The apparatus is capable of being run very slowly, or it may be run at arapid rate, depending upon the length of the cooling chamber. Thecapacity of the machine is thus exceedingly flexible, and if it shouldbe necessary to stop the operation of the machine for a period of time,it may be readily started again without requiring dismantling andcleaning of the machine.

By reason of the extensive cooling surfaces provided by casing l2 andthe helical surfaces of the worm flights 21, an exceedingly high ratioof cooling surface to volume of liquid being chilled is provided. It isthus possible to obtain a very rapid chilling and hardening of liquidseven though the length of the chilling chamber is relatively short. Itwill be apparent that any suitable number of rotors may be employed inaccordance with our invention, two such rotors being shown only by wayof illustration. The exact form of the worm flights 2| illustrated ispreferable, although not essential since the worm flights may be made inother shapes complemental to each other to provide a similar action. Theworm flights do not have to be of exactly complemental constructionalthough the more accurately they are fitted together, the moresatisfactory pumping action is produced by them. If the rotors fittogether or in the casing l2 rather loosely, it may be necessary tointroduce the liquid to be chilled under pressure. It will be understoodthat the apparatus described is capable of producing various chilledsolid products other than margarine.

The terms and expressions which we have employed are used as terms ofdescription and not of limitation, and we have no intention, in the useof such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of thefeatures shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize thatvarious modifications are possible within the scope of the inventionclaimed.

We claim:

1. In apparatus for chilling a liquid to produce a solid edible product,a chilling chamber, means for introducing liquid to be chilled into saidchamber, and a plurality of members within said chamber for kneading andrubbing congealed material and liquid, said members having relativelyflat outer surfaces coacting to remove congealed material continuouslyfrom the surfaces of each other and having means pressed resilientlyagainst the surface of said chamber to scrape material therefrom.

2. In apparatus for chilling a liquid to produce a solid edible product,a chilling chamber, means for introducing liquid to be chilled into saidchamber, and a pair of rotors within said chamber having irregularcomplemental surfaces for moving liquid and congealed material throughsaid chamber without substantial accumulation of congealed material onsaid rotor surfaces, said irregular complemental surfaces comprisingmeshing screw threads tapered in thickness in a direction radiallyoutward and having substantially flat outer surfaces.

3. In apparatus for chilling liquid to produce a solid product, achilling chamber, a. pair of worms arranged for rotation in oppositedirections within said chamber and meshing with each other to free thesurfaces thereof from congealed material, and driving means for rotatingsaid worms carrying radially expandible means resiliently pressedagainst the walls of said chamber to scrape congealed materialtherefrom.

4. Apparatus for congealing a liquid to produce a solid productcomprising a chamber, means for cooling said chamber, means forintroducing liquid to be congealed into said chamber, a plurality ofself cleaning rotors arranged for rotation within said chamber forforcing liquid and congealed material therethrough, and means connectedto said chamber for shaping congealed material as it is expelled fromsaid chamber by said rotors, said rotors carrying radially expandibleelongated scraper blades for removing congealed material continuouslyfrom the walls of said chamber.

5. In apparatus of the character described, a plurality of rotorsprovided with screw threads, an elongated housing forming a chambercorresponding generally to the shape of said rotors, grooves formed inthe outer surfaces of said screw threads, and radially expandiblescraper means for scraping the inner walls of said chamber carried bysaid rotors in said grooves.

6. In apparatus of the character described, a plurality of rotorsprovided with screw threads, an elongated housing forming a chambercorresponding generally to the shape of said rotors, grooves formed inthe outer surfaces of said screw threads, and helical scraper bladescarried in said grooves having their forward ends positively connectedto said rotors for rotation therewith.

GORDON C. SCHAUB. JACOB SCHAUB.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,268,905. January 6, 1911.2.

GORDON C. SCHAUB, ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5,secand column, li e 11, claim 1, after "scrape" insert --congealed--;and line 51 claim 5, after "worms" insert said worms--; and that thesaid Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that thesame may conform to therecord of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 5rd day of March, A. D. 191g.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) I Acting Commissioner of Patent'

